(Tehran Times ) -- The Marjan Petrochemical Complex is being constructed in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (Assalouyeh), the Mehr News Agency reported. The unit has the capacity to produce 1,650,000 tons of methanol and is estimated to come on stream by 2015 (the end of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan) at the cost of 342 million euros and 2.12 trillion rials (some $212 million).
Iran exported $8.7 billion worth of petrochemical products in the first ten months of the Iranian calendar year (ended January 20, 2011), which shows a 61 percent increase in value compared to the same period the year before.
Iran currently produces 25.8 percent of petrochemical products of the Middle East and 2.4 percent of the global output. The country plans to produce 44 million tons of petrochemicals by the end of the current year.